I am a Catholic youth strongly considering entering a religious
calling when I complete college.
I have been discerning
between the priesthood and brotherhood and was very grateful
when I stumbled upon your site. It seems that I now have another
calling to consider when I pray about the various callings the Church offers: apologetics.

I was asked a question by a friend the other day:

Why does the Church allow only men to be priests, bishops, cardinals, etc.?

My response was that it is mostly based upon tradition. Jesus
was a man who had only selected male disciples, who in turn, selected
only male disciples, and so on. Being that Christ manifested
himself as a man, it stands to reason that a man would better
represent Him at the celebration of the Eucharist or the Mass.

I was wondering if my answer addressed every aspect of his question. There is most definitely
an import placed upon men in the Bible as opposed to women.

How does this relate to the Church today?

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question.

Mark Donovan

{
Why does the Church only allow men to be priests, bishops, cardinals, etc.? }

John replied:

Mark,

It's not a matter of allowing or not allowing men or woman to become
priests. The Church can only do what She is allowed to do by Divine
Revelation. The Church does not just make things up out of thin air. Holy Orders is a Sacrament. As such, it can only be valid if three
things are present:

Form: The right prayer, including the specific language which
the person performing the Sacrament has the authority to do.

Intention: The person performing the Sacrament intends to do
what the Church intends to do.

Matter: The part of a sacrament with which or to which something is done in order to confer grace. For instance, a priest could not turn a potato chip
and some coke into the Body and Blood of Our Lord. No, indeed it must
be unleavened wheat bread and grape wine. Note: There are some exceptions based on physiological issues of specific people. e.g. gluten free hosts are safe and available for people with celiac disease.

For the sacrament of Holy Orders:

The form is the bishop's prayer of consecration asking God for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and for His gifts proper to the diaconate, presbyterate, or episcopate, as appropriate.

The matter is the bishop's imposition of hands on the head of the ordinand, or man to be ordained.

In the case of Holy Orders, a bishop cannot ordain a woman, because
the woman cannot receive this sacrament. This has nothing to do with
any ability, or lack of, she might have. It has to do with who she is. Christ
was man; hence, a priest who stands in the place of Christ and offers
Christ's Sacrifice, must also be a man.

If a bishop did attempt to ordain a woman:

she would not be priest

the Holy Spirit would not act, and

she could not [consecrate|confect] the Eucharist,
forgive sins, etc.

It is as impossible for a woman to be real priest as it is impossible
for a man to get pregnant and give birth.

Hope this helps,

John DiMascio

Mary
Ann replied:

Hi Mark,

I would like to add to what John said.

A sacrament is
an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace. So
a sacrament is dependent on the Will of Christ. Part
of a sacrament's nature is that it is willed by Christ.
He willed to choose men for the priestly role. There
are many reasons why it should be so, but in the end,
since a sacrament is an act of Christ, it is His Will
that determines what each sacrament consists of.

A woman cannot manifest the Fatherhood of God, as Christ
does. She can manifest other aspects of God, but not
this. God chose to reveal Himself as Father, so we should
respect that and honor the mystery. She cannot manifest
the masculine role of Christ, the Man, the role of Bridegroom.
She can manifest other aspects of Christ's nature, and
perhaps others more interior to Him, but not aspects
of His role and His functioning.

As to any right to be ordained: No one has
a right to be ordained, not even any man. It is a calling
from God through the Church. It is a gift.

I hope you discover your vocation, whatever it is. Don't
think, like the T.V. show God or the Girl,
that you have to know everything absolutely ahead of time.

There is always time for discernment, and the ultimate
decision belongs to the Church. So if you think you may
have a vocation to the priesthood, go ahead and begin
the process.

As a husband unites himself to his wife and
imparts his life to her, to make her fruitful, so Christ
unites himself to His Bride, the Church (through the Eucharist),
to impart to Her His divine life and make her fruitful.
He does so through His representative, the priest. The
priest acts
in persona Christi, in the person
of Christ — in other words, in a mystical and symbolic
way
he takes on the role of Christ.

Because Christ is the Bridegroom of the Church, and
because the priest participates so intimately in the
Eucharist, which is the consummation of the relationship
between the Bridegroom and the Bride, it is necessary
for the priest to be male. Otherwise, the symbolism breaks
down.

Hope this helps,

Eric Ewanco

Mike
replied:

Hi Mark,

I just wanted to comment on your calling. This will vary from individual
to individual. Prayer and living the sacramental life of the Church is the best way
to discern the calling Our Lord has for you. Over time you will know
whether the priesthood or religious life is your calling.

If you find it is not your calling and that you are called either
to the married life or single life, Catholic Apologetics is a great
area to work in. I believe it is sorely needed at the Catholic parish CCD
level; I can't think of one CCD class that has ever taught on Catholic Apologetics.

It does require a regular prayer life and study, not only
of the Holy Scriptures, but of the Teachings of the Church. (The Catechism is a great source for this purpose.) It also
requires that you develop a prayerful Catholic support team that
is also loyal to the Holy See and one that also strives to live a
similar prayerful life.

The reason why a prayer life is particularly important in this area
is because it will aid you in not taking what others say about our
Faith personally, but mold you to strive to understand where they
are coming from first instead of holding on to the old, stereotypical character of the religious person typified by the phrase, "If you don't do this, then, you are going here."

Once you understand their faith journey, you
can aid them in seeing your Catholic view. If they understand the Catholic view and are not interested in following it, you have to respect their free will while still keeping friendships strong.

Work in this area also
requires patience and being able to take constructive criticism from
prayerful colleagues, colleagues who can sometime correct an erroneous
opinion of the Church you may have.